Shloka 13
पाण्डोः प्रव्रज्या-व्रतवर्णनम् | Pāṇḍu’s Resolve for Renunciation and Forest Discipline
गान्धारी त्वथ शुश्राव धृतराष्ट्रमचक्षुषम् । आत्मानं दित्सितं चास्मै पित्रा मात्रा च भारत,जनमेजय! गान्धारीने जब सुना कि धूृतराष्ट्र अंधे हैं और पिता-माता मेरा विवाह उन्हींके साथ करना चाहते हैं, तब उन्होंने रेशमी वस्त्र लेकर उसके कई तह करके उसीसे अपनी आँखें बाँध लीं। राजन! गान्धारी बड़ी पतिव्रता थीं। उन्होंने निश्चय कर लिया था कि मैं (सदा पतिके अनुकूल रहूँगी,, उनके दोष नहीं देखूँगी। तदनन्तर एक दिन गान्धारराजकुमार शकुनि युवावस्था तथा लक्ष्मीके समान मनोहर शोभासे युक्त अपनी बहिन गान्धारीको साथ लेकर कौरवोंके यहाँ गये और उन्होंने बड़े आदर-सत्कारके साथ धृतराष्ट्रको अपनी बहिन सौंप दी। शकुनिने भीष्मजीकी सम्मतिके अनुसार विवाह-कार्य सम्पन्न किया
gāndhārī tv atha śuśrāva dhṛtarāṣṭram acakṣuṣam | ātmānaṃ ditsitaṃ cāsmai pitrā mātrā ca bhārata janamejaya ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Então Gāndhārī ouviu, ó Bhārata Janamejaya, que Dhṛtarāṣṭra era privado da visão e que seu pai e sua mãe pretendiam dá-la em casamento a ele. O episódio põe em relevo a tensão entre a escolha pessoal e o dever familiar, e introduz o ideal posterior de fidelidade conjugal de Gāndhārī—interpretado como uma decisão deliberada de partilhar a condição do marido e de alinhar a própria vida à dele, quaisquer que fossem as suas limitações.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as lived within social bonds: Gandhārī learns of her prospective husband’s blindness and of her parents’ decision to marry her to him. It frames an ethical ideal later associated with her—steadfast marital commitment and willingness to share in a spouse’s condition—while also raising the question of how individual agency operates under familial and dynastic obligations.
Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Gandhārī hears Dhṛtarāṣṭra is blind and that her parents intend to give her to him in marriage. This sets up the subsequent well-known account of her response and the formal alliance between Gandhāra and the Kuru house.